TORONTO – Despite the unknown future – no one knows what Covid-19 will hold for us in the months to come – easing restrictions has begun around the world. Since today, in Ontario the vaccination passport is no longer required in most restaurants, gyms and cinemas while nightclubs, sports clubs and concert halls can eliminate capacity limits. Probably in two weeks the obligation to wear a mask will also fall.
“We are almost there – said in recent days the premier of the province Doug Ford – it is no secret that I want to remove the use of masks but to do so I wait for the Chief Medical Officer of Health Moore to give me the green light”.
With capacity limits and vaccination certificate already revoked across the province this month, a significant return to face-to-face work in toronto offices is expected.
Among the measures taken to cope with the pandemic was smart working that turned out to be basically in a situation in which physical isolation was necessary.
Ontario Public Service (OPS) employees, according to some sources, will begin returning to work in presence on a voluntary basis this week while from April 4 they are expected to go to the office three days a week.
The move will impact more than 60,000 employees in the Ontario government’s direct ministries and a number of state-owned agencies and companies. Many of their employees have been working remotely for part or all of the last two years characterized by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Around 30,000 OPS employees began a gradual return to work in November 2021, a return that was completely blocked after the arrival of the Omicron variant.
Toronto City Hall employees working from home are expected to return to the office by March 21.
For example, CIBC employees should also be included in the workplace, but they will, like many other companies, allow part of its staff to stay at home. “Going forward CIBC will leverage remote work as part of our business model for many of its employees,” Sandy Sharman, the bank’s head of people, culture and brand, wrote in an email.
With the pandemic, the work done from home has become the best solution to avoid, as reiterated by doctors, the dreaded physical contact and therefore the transmission of the virus. For both companies and employees, this was a novelty. A historic turning point for the world of work.
But now the so-called hybrid model – alternation between face-to-face work and remote work – is becoming increasingly popular.
What is certain is that the partial return to the pre-pandemic lifestyle is good for people’s mood even if both the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Theresa Pam and the director of the Ontario Science Advisory Table Peter Juni, repeat like a broken record, that the pandemic is not over. It is forbidden to delude oneself.
